Whenever life has dealt me a blow, there is one place in the Holy book where I turn to for comfort and reassurance..."every moment in the life of a mortal is a passing phase..." Isn’t it amazing that the Holy Book is full of answers? Even though we may never fathom the mystery, but the truth is that life is never constant. Life is never static; it is dynamic.
Life is in phases and seasons. In one phase, life holds forth a sweet smelling fragrance, and in another phase, the smell is repugnant. Just like the ocean. Nothing portrays the truth of the dynamism of life to me more poignantly than the ocean. I find the ocean fascinating! A river is moving. It has a flow. It is a force, one that a lot of people dread. Some people may wonder what an ocean has got to do with life.
While at the Nigerian Law School, Lagos in 1997, I lived on the island which is close to the ocean. One certain evening, having nothing to do, my colleague and I took a stroll to bar beach, the oceanside. Looking at that large expanse of water, I was held spellbound. For stretching as far as my eyes could see was this blanket of grey! It was so calm, there was not a ripple to be seen anywhere. Yet I felt a palpable distrust of this calmness; for I knew deep within that the calmness was only superficial. I knew what would happen should I step into the blanket. I would go in deep and be submerged in the greyness. I would probably drown because I am no swimmer. Needless to say, I was hooked. I developed a fascination for the ocean which was beyond my understanding. There was something in the water that connected with the core of being.
In the course of time, I became a faithful pilgrim to the oceanside, never understanding what it was that drew me. I got used to going to the beach whenever the spirit of depression came upon my soul. Other times I came away from the beach with a sense of awe. Other times, with a sense of peace but most of the times, the sense was of perturbing questions. What is it in the ocean that my spirit wanted to fathom; to understand?
Yet the day of reckoning came when everything fell into place. The perturbing questions received startling answers. My spiritual eyes were further opened. A very dear friend of mine arranged to celebrate his birthday party at Takwa Bay. There was just one snag though; the place was across the waters. My distrust of the ocean would not allow me to venture any closer than the shoreline but I had no choice but to make this party. And boy was glad I did!
We traveled on the open sea on a speedboat. It was one of the most enlightening rides of my life! For in that journey I made the startling discovery – the ocean has a fascinating parallel to life!
In repose, the ocean is naturally calm, tranquil. At times the ocean rages. There are ripples, storms, waves! Things disturb this tranquility and calmness of the ocean – the wind, stones/pebbles, ships, boats, etc. Throw a pebble into the water and you will get ripples. When the wind is fierce, the ocean billows and rolls in waves. And storms rage. And storms destroy. And storms engulf. Only God protects those who are out at sea when a storm rages! For a storm is merciless in its fury. All this came to my mind during the ride in the speedboat. I saw the waves the speedboat caused. When I looked back behind us, the waves were gone and the sea returned to its tumultuous calmness.
What is the point I am trying to make here? Simply this – that life is in phases and seasons. There are times in life when we face storms and waves. They may be storms of failure, depression, debt, disappointment, sickness, betrayal, divorce, prison ,death, separation. Name it; life has it. One good news is that no matter how fierce the turbulence of the ocean, there comes a return of calmness and tranquility. In muddy waters, the mud recedes leaving the water clear on the surface. Life is like that. Even though we may still bear the scars of one phase of life, we still enjoy peace and serenity. Life goes on. We pick up from where we had fallen off and move on.
Life may not always be what we expect of it but know that as sure as day follows night, the storms of life will abate, no matter how fierce the storms rages, just look up to God. The ocean does not have a choice as to what is allowed on its waters, it is at the mercy of man and of the elements. Yet it has the upper hand when its storms and waters are stirred up! Let’s anchor our life on the Almighty. He will calm the waters of life, so that at the end of our storms, we are stronger in faith. May the waters of our lives ever be calm.
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